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"We worked as hard as we could... it hurts, it hurts a lot and it will hurt for a long time. We have had a fantastic journey, further than we thought," he added.

After Kieran Trippier's fifth-minute goal, England looked on course for their first final since 1996. But Croatia levelled through Ivan Perisic after 68 minutes, and then took the lead in extra time with Mandzukic scoring in the 109th minute.

"We created some good chances when we were 1-0 up, maybe we dropped a little too deep but we didn't get enough pressure on the ball. There are a lot of ifs and buts, in these games it's small margins."

"It's hard to say (what went wrong). There's a lot we could have done better. They played well and made it difficult for us... it's hard to put your finger on it."

If they had beaten Croatia, England would have reached only their second World Cup final. In their other appearance, in 1966, in London, they entered popular folklore by beating West Germany, an achievement that many fans have long thought they would never see again.

Here’s what the English players had to say after their heartbreaking loss.

Was an honour to represent my country at the world cup. The squad we have is a great bunch of lads who are willing to learn and give everything and we can hold our heads high. Thank you to everyone who supported our journey ðð¾ we dont stop here! â¬ #ThreeLions ð¦ð¦ð¦ pic.twitter.com/QuZ6XOmgOj

Absolutely devastated that our journey is over! We enjoyed every moment as a nation, Iâd like to thank all the staff and fans for being behind us. It has been an honour to be a part of this special team. We will be back stronger ðð´ó §ó ¢ó ¥ó ®ó §ó ¿ pic.twitter.com/LErwj4QqZm

Devastated to not be coming back here for the final on Sunday but this is just the beginning for this squad! To each and every @England fan, the support has been incredible and we canât thank you enough! #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/BvKvO9AWVL